Use of watermarking to control abandonment of dynamic content modification

ABSTRACT

The disclosure provides for use of watermarking as a basis control abandonment of dynamic content modification. Upon detecting of the occurrence of a trigger event for causing a content presentation device to abandon a dynamic content modification with respect to a media stream being delivered to the content presentation device, an entity encodes into the media stream an abandonment-watermark interpretable by the content presentation device to cause the content presentation device to abandon the dynamic content modification. The content presentation device then detects the abandonment-watermark in the media stream being received by the content presentation device and in response to the abandonment-watermark, abandons the dynamic content modification.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/301,705,filed Apr. 12, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/929,212, filed Jan. 29, 2020, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/882,220, filed Aug. 2, 2019, theentirety of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

A typical content presentation device operates to receive an analog ordigital media stream representing media content such as video and/oraudio content and to render and present the media content on a userinterface such as a display screen and/or an audio speaker. Examples ofsuch devices include, without limitation, televisions, computermonitors, projection systems, loudspeakers, headphones, and the like.

In many cases, such a content presentation device may be incommunication with a receiver, such as a local set top box or othersimilar device or a remote server, that has access to numerous discretechannels of media content and that can selectively deliver a given suchchannel's media content to the content presentation device for playout.

By way of example, a television may be communicatively linked by aHigh-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) cable or other interfacewith a cable-TV set top box that has access to a set of cable-TV orsatellite-TV channels, and the set top box may be configured to receiveuser input selecting a particular channel and to responsively tune tothe selected channel and output to the television the media content ofthe selected channel, for presentation of the media content to a user.As another example, a loudspeaker may be communicatively linked with aradio that has access to a set of radio stations, and the radio may beconfigured to receive user input selecting a particular channel(station) and to responsively tune to the selected channel and output tothe loudspeaker the media content of the selected channel, forpresentation of the media content to a user. And as still anotherexample, a content presentation device such as a display or speaker maybe communicatively linked with a computer that has access to a myriad ofonline streaming media channels, and the computer may be configured toreceive user input selecting a particular channel and to responsivelyinitiate receipt and output of the selected media content and providethe media content to the display and/or speaker for presentation to auser.

SUMMARY

When a content presentation device receives and renders a media stream,the content presentation device may not have an indication of whichchannel the media stream represents and thus which channel of mediacontent the content presentation device is rendering. A receiver,server, or other device that selectively tunes to the channel andprovides the media stream of the channel to the content presentationdevice may have such information, but the content presentation devicethat receives the media content from that other device may not have suchinformation. For example, if a television is coupled with a cable-TV settop box and a user selects a particular cable channel on the set topbox, the set top box may thereby have an indication of the selectedchannel as the channel on which the set top box is then receiving amedia content that is being output to the television. But the televisionitself may merely receive and render the media content and may have noindication of the selected channel.

For various reasons, however, it may be useful to determine which ofvarious channels is the channel being rendered by a content presentationdevice. Further, it may be useful to do so without receiving from achannel-selection device (e.g., receiver or remote control) a report ofthe channel to which that device is tuned, and perhaps without anyinvolvement of the channel-selection device. For instance, it may beuseful for the content presentation device itself, and/or a networkserver working in cooperation with the content presentation device, todetermine the channel based on an evaluation of the media content thatis being rendered by the content presentation device.

Given knowledge of the channel that the content presentation device isrendering, the network server and/or another entity could then carry outone or more operations keyed to the channel, such as determining andrecording an extent to which media content of that channel is beingplayed, selectively replacing a predetermined portion of the mediacontent with alternative content (such as dynamically inserting areplacement advertisement), or superimposing channel-specific contentover the media content for presentation along with the media content,among numerous other possibilities.

One method to determine the channel that the content presentation deviceis rendering is to apply fingerprint-based automatic content recognition(ACR). With fingerprint-based ACR, an entity could be provisioned withreference data that includes digital reference fingerprints respectivelyrepresenting each of various known channels of media content (e.g., eachof the channels within a subscription plan for a set-top box thatsupplies media content to the content presentation device) and that mapsthe reference fingerprints to the respective channels that theyrepresent. Further, the entity could be provided with digital queryfingerprints that represent the media content currently being renderedby the content presentation device, and the entity could compare thequery fingerprints with the reference fingerprints in an effort to finda match. Upon finding that the query fingerprints match the referencefingerprints mapped to a particular channel, the entity could thusdetermine that the channel being rendered by the content presentationdevice is that particular channel.

In an example implementation of fingerprint-based ACR, a contentdistribution system that is configured to distribute various knownchannels of media content to content presentation devices couldregularly provision an ACR server (e.g., fingerprint-matching server)with reference data to enable the ACR server to conduct the fingerprintanalysis. In particular, for each of various channels, the contentdistribution system could generate timestamped reference fingerprints ona per-frame basis or other ongoing basis and could regularly transmitthe reference fingerprints to the ACR server along with informationmapping each reference fingerprint to the channel that it represents.

Further, as the content presentation device receives and renders a mediastream representing a given channel of media content, the contentpresentation device could generate the timestamped query fingerprints ofthe media content on a pre-frame basis or other ongoing basis and couldregularly transmit the generated query fingerprints to the ACR serverfor analysis.

On an ongoing basis or in response to one or more trigger events, theACR server could thus compare the query fingerprints provided by thecontent presentation device with the reference fingerprints provided bythe content distribution system. And upon finding with sufficientcertainty that the query fingerprints match reference fingerprints thatthe reference data maps to a particular channel, the ACR server couldreasonably conclude that that is the channel being rendered by thecontent presentation device.

In a representative implementation, determining the channel that thecontent presentation device is rendering could help facilitate dynamiccontent modification, such as targeted advertisement replacement.

By way of example, once the ACR server has determined the channel thatthe content presentation device is rendering, the ACR server or anotherentity could then use that determined channel identity as a basis todetect when a content-modification opportunity is about to occur on thatchannel. And the ACR server or other entity could then responsivelycause the content presentation device to carry out a contentmodification at the time of the content-modification opportunity.

This example channel-specific action could take advantage of a timedelay that is likely to exist from the point in time when the contentdistribution system outputs media content of the channel fortransmission to the content presentation device to the point in timewhen the content presentation device renders that media content.Depending on the configuration of the system, this delay could be on theorder of 5-10 seconds.

Given that delay, it could be possible for the content distributionsystem, the ACR server, and/or one or more other entities to detect thepresence of particular content defining a content-modificationopportunity on the channel that is en route to the content presentationdevice well enough before that content arrives at the contentpresentation device. By engaging in relatively quick out-of-band (e.g.,Internet Protocol (IP) based) communication with the contentpresentation device during that delay period, a server could thenprepare the content presentation device to engage in contentmodification with respect to the detected content, so that when thedetected content ultimately arrives at the content presentation device,the content presentation device could carry out the content modificationin a timely manner.

As to content modification, for instance, the ACR server could beprovisioned in advance with modifiable-content segment data thatincludes digital fingerprints respectively representing each of variousmodifiable content segments of media content, along with associatedmetadata per modifiable content segment, such as a duration of thesegment, an identifier of the segment, a type of associated contentmodification (e.g., replacement or overlay) and the like. For instance,a content management system could generate and provide this informationin advance to the ACR server.

Having identified the channel being rendered by the content presentationdevice, the ACR server could then compare the ongoing referencefingerprints representing that identified channel with the fingerprintsrepresenting the various modifiable content segments. And upon findingwith sufficient certainty that the reference fingerprints of theidentified channel match the fingerprints representing a particularmodifiable content segment, the ACR server could reasonably concludethat the media content en route to the content presentation deviceincludes that modifiable content segment. Further, the ACR server couldthereby determine from the reference data of the identified channel theframe-timestamp or other timing information indicating when themodifiable content segment is present on the channel.

Upon so detecting the presence of a modifiable content segment in themedia content of the channel en route to the content presentationdevice, the ACR server and/or another entity could then responsivelyengage in out-of-band signaling with the content presentation device toenable and cause the content presentation device to perform a contentmodification with respect to that modifiable content segment.

For instance, the ACR server could provide the content presentationdevice with timing information regarding the upcoming contentmodification opportunity. The timing information regarding the upcomingcontent modification opportunity could include frame-timestampinformation or other timing information that informs the contentpresentation device when the modifiable content segment will be presenton the channel of media content that the content presentation device isreceiving and rendering. For example, this could include aframe-timestamp of the start of the modifiable content segment on thechannel and a duration of the modifiable content segment and/orframe-timestamp of the end of the modifiable content segment on thechannel. With this timing information, the content presentation devicecould accordingly plan to carry out a content modification at the timeof the modifiable content segment.

Further, the ACR server could provide the content presentation devicewith various other information regarding the modifiable content segment,to enable the content presentation device to carry out the contentmodification at the indicated time of the modifiable content segment.For instance, the ACR server could provide the content presentationdevice with metadata as described above, such as a duration of thesegment, an identifier of the segment, and a type of associated contentmodification (e.g., replacement or overlay) and the like.

With this information, the content presentation device could thenresponsively work with the content management system and/or anotherentity to obtain details of the content modification to perform withrespect to the upcoming modifiable content segment. For instance, thecontent presentation device could transmit to the content managementsystem a request that provides the content management system with themodifiable content segment identifier and other associated metadataabout the modifiable content segment. And the content management systemcould responsively provide the content presentation device withinformation to facilitate the content modification.

The content management system could use various information as a basisto determine supplemental content that the content presentation deviceshould render in place of or as an overlay superimposed on themodifiable content segment. For instance, the content management systemcould use user-demographics, location, and/or other informationregarding the content presentation device as a basis to determineappropriate supplemental content.

Further, the content management system could ascertain a storagelocation of determined supplemental content and could provide thecontent presentation device with an indication of that storage location.For instance, the content management system could query asupplemental-content delivery system to determine a uniform resourcelocator (URL) or other address from which the content presentationdevice could obtain the supplemental content from a network server orfrom local data storage of the content presentation device. And thecontent management system could provide the content presentation devicewith that address and/or with other information to enable the contentpresentation device to obtain the supplemental content, or the contentmanagement system could itself provide the content presentation devicewith the supplemental content.

With this information, the content presentation device could thus obtainthe supplemental content and could plan to present the supplementalcontent (e.g., as replacement or overlay) at the time of the modifiablecontent segment on the channel that the content presentation device isrendering.

The content-modification process described so far could be carried outfor various purposes. Without limitation, for instance, thecontent-modification process could be carried out to facilitate dynamicadvertisement insertion (DAI), in which the content presentation devicereplaces a generally applicable ad (e.g., a nationally broadcast ad)with a replacement ad possibly selected based on location, userdemographics, and/or other information specific to the contentpresentation device.

For DAI, an entity such as content broadcaster, distributor, orad-replacement service might enter into agreements with advertisers tofacilitate replacing playout of certain ads, deemed “replaceable ads,”with different ads, deemed “replacement ads.” For each of variousreplaceable ads, the content management server or other entity couldthen receive a copy of the replaceable ad and could provision the ACRserver with digital fingerprints representing the replaceable ad andwith associated data regarding the replaceable ad. For instance, foreach replaceable ad, the content management server could generatedigital fingerprints of the replaceable ad on a per-frame basis or thelike and could transmit to transmit to the ACR server the generatedfingerprints of the replaceable ad along with metadata as describedabove, such as a unique identifier of the replaceable ad, a duration ofthe replaceable ad, an indication that the ad is to be replaced, and soforth. (Further, the data provided to the ACR server could include atraffic schedule that indicates when specific ads, with particularidentifiers and associated fingerprints, are scheduled to be presentedon each of one or more channels.)

Once the ACR server has identified the channel being rendered by thecontent presentation device, the ACR server could then responsivelycompare the reference fingerprints representing that identified channelwith the fingerprints representing various replaceable ads. And uponfinding with sufficient certainty that the reference fingerprints of theidentified channel match the fingerprints representing a particularreplaceable ad, the ACR server could reasonably conclude that thechannel being rendered by the content presentation device includes thereplaceable ad, and more specifically that the media content en route tothe content presentation device includes that replaceable ad.

In response to this conclusion, the ACR server and/or another entitycould engage in signaling with the content presentation device toprepare the content presentation device to present a replacement ad inplace of the replaceable ad. In line with the discussion above, forinstance, the ACR server or other entity could transmit to the contentpresentation device, through out-of-band signaling, one or more messagesthat provide the content presentation device with (i) a frame-timestampor other information that indicates when the replaceable ad will occuron the channel that the content presentation device is rendering, (ii)the unique identifier and duration of the replaceable ad, and (iii)reference fingerprints of representing frames of the channel at least upto and through the time of that the replaceable ad will occur.

Given the identifier and duration of the replaceable ad, the contentpresentation device could then engage in out-of-band signaling with thecontent management system to ascertain a replaceable ad that the contentpresentation device should render in place of the replaceable ad. Here,the content presentation device might provide the content managementsystem with a user identification, demographics, location, and/or otherinformation that the content management system could use as a basis toselect an appropriate replacement ad. Further, the content managementsystem could use the duration of the replaceable ad, indicated by thecontent presentation device or mapped to the ad-identifier of thereplaceable ad for instance, to select a replacement ad that is of thesame duration as the replaceable ad.

The content management system could then work with thesupplemental-content delivery system to determine a URL or other addressor location from which the content presentation device could obtain thereplacement ad and could inform the content presentation deviceaccordingly. And the content presentation device could thus obtain thereplacement ad and plan to render it in place of the replaceable ad onthe channel that the content presentation device is rendering, asdiscussed above.

A technical difficulty that can arise with these or other dynamiccontent modification processes is that, once a decision has been madefor the content presentation device to apply a content modification, anevent may occur that justifies abandoning the content modification. Forexample, if emergency content, such as a breaking news report oremergency alert, occurs in the media stream that the contentpresentation device is receiving, it may be best for the contentpresentation device to avoid or discontinue modifying content of thatmedia stream, so that the content presentation device can present theemergency content. As another example, if the channel represented by themedia stream being received by the content presentation device changes(e.g., if a user changes the channel), it may likewise be best for thecontent presentation to avoid or discontinue modifying content of themedia stream, since the media stream may no longer include thedetermined content-modification opportunity.

At issue when such an event occurs is then how to cause the contentpresentation device to abandon dynamic content modification that isplanned or in-process.

The present disclosure provides for use of watermarking as a mechanismto facilitate abandonment of dynamic content modification. In accordancewith the disclosure, when an event occurs that justifies having acontent presentation device abandon planned or in-process dynamiccontent modification, a special abandonment-watermark will be encodedinto the media stream that is en route to the content presentationdevice. The content presentation device will then detect the presence ofthe abandonment-watermark in the media stream that the contentpresentation device is receiving, and the content presentation devicewill respond to the detected abandonment-watermark by abandoning thedynamic content modification.

By way of example, when an emergency alert occurs in the media streamthat is en route to the content presentation device, an entity involvedwith providing that media stream could encode the abandonment-watermarkinto the media stream.

For instance, an entity that inserts the emergency alert into the mediastream could encode the abandonment-watermark into the media stream aswell. Or another entity could detect or learn of the presence ofemergency alert in the media stream, such as by monitoring the mediastream for the presence of one or more predefined tones (e.g., EmergencyAlert System (EAS) tones) or other audio signals indicative of anemergency alert and could responsively encode, or cause to be encoded,into the media stream the abandonment-watermark, perhaps coincident withor proximate to the detected audio signal(s). As the contentpresentation device is receiving the media stream, the contentpresentation device could then detect the encoded abandonment-watermarkand could responsively abandon dynamic content modification, so as toallow unmodified presentation of the emergency alert.

As another example, an entity involved with providing the media streamto the content presentation device could detect or learn when thechannel represented by that media stream changes and could responsivelyencode the abandonment-watermark into the media stream.

The entity that detects or learns when the channel represented by themedia stream changes could be any entity that is aware of and/orinvolved with channel selection. For instance, the entity could be a settop box that serves the content presentation device, or the entity couldbe a streaming-content service provider (such as a virtual multichannelvideo program distributor (virtual-MVPD) that streams a selected channelto a receiver serving the content presentation device, among otherpossibilities. Upon change of the channel represented by the mediastream, such an entity could encode the abandonment-watermark into themedia stream. And as the content presentation device is receiving themedia stream, the content presentation device could then detect theabandonment-watermark and responsively abandon dynamic contentmodification so as to allow the new channel to be presented.

With these or other implementations, the content presentation devicecould detect the abandonment-watermark within the media stream at anytime between when the content presentation device begins planning for adynamic content modification (e.g., once it has received an initialdirective to carry out the dynamic content modification) and when thecontent presentation device would finish carrying out the dynamiccontent modification. And the content presentation device could respondto the detected abandonment-watermark by abandoning the dynamic contentmodification, such as by not carrying out a content modification that isbeing planned or by discontinuing a content modification that isoccurring.

Considering the example dynamic content modification process describedabove, for instance, the content presentation device might detect theabandonment-watermark between (i) the time when the content presentationdevice receives from the ACR server timing information and/or otherinformation about an upcoming content modification opportunity and (ii)the time when the upcoming content modification opportunity would start.In that case, the content presentation device could then respond to thedetected abandonment-watermark by abandoning its plans to start thecontent modification and by thus not starting the content modification.For example, depending on where the content presentation device is inthe planning process before starting the content modification, thecontent presentation device might thereby forgo further operations suchas working with a content management system and/or other entity toobtain details of the content modification to perform, and/or obtainingsupplemental content such as replacement or overlay content.

Alternatively, the content presentation device might detect theabandonment-watermark while the content presentation device is currentlyrendering the content modification, such as while the contentpresentation device is rendering replacement or overlay content. In thatcase, the content presentation device could then respond to the detectedabandonment-watermark by discontinuing the content modification and thusreverting to rendering of the underlying media stream without completingthe content modification.

In an example implementation, the abandonment-watermark could be awatermark that encodes a predefined data value, or a value of apredefined format, that is interpretable by the content presentationdevice to trigger abandonment of dynamic content modification. Thus, asthe content presentation device is receiving and rendering a mediastream, the content presentation device could monitor the media streamfor the presence of a watermark that encodes that particular data value.The content presentation device might start monitoring for presence ofthis abandonment-watermark once the content presentation device startsplanning for a dynamic content modification, such as once the contentpresentation device receives from an ACR server or the like signalingrelated to an upcoming content modification opportunity. Upon detectingin the media stream a watermark that encodes the value interpretable bythe content presentation device to trigger abandonment of dynamiccontent modification, the content presentation device could thenresponsively abandon the dynamic content modification.

These as well as other aspects, advantages, and alternatives will becomeapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the followingdetailed description, with reference where appropriate to theaccompanying drawings. Further, it should be understood that thedescriptions provided in this summary and below are intended toillustrate the invention by way of example only and not by way oflimitation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an example system in whichvarious disclosed principles can be applied.

FIG. 2 is another simplified block diagram of an example system in whichvarious disclosed principles could be applied.

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram illustrating components that couldbe involved in an example implementation.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart depicting a method that can be carried out inaccordance with the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is another flow chart depicting a method that can be carried outin accordance with the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a simplified block diagram of an example system operable inaccordance with the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of an example content presentationdevice operable in accordance with the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of anexample system in which various disclosed principles can be applied. Itwill be understood, however, that this and other arrangements andprocesses described herein can take various other forms. For instance,elements and operations can be re-ordered, distributed, replicated,combined, omitted, added, or otherwise modified. Further, it will beunderstood that functions described herein as being carried out by oneor more entities could be implemented by and/or on behalf of thoseentities, through hardware, firmware, and/or software, such as by one ormore processing units executing program instructions or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the example system includes one or more mediacontent sources 100 (e.g., broadcasters, web servers, etc.), one or moremedia content distributors 102 (e.g., multi-channel distributors, suchas cable providers, satellite providers, over-the-air broadcastproviders, web aggregators, etc.), one or more media content receivers104 (e.g., cable receivers, satellite receivers, over-the-air broadcastreceivers, computers or other streaming media receivers, etc.), and oneor more clients or content presentation devices 106 (e.g., televisionsor other display devices, loudspeakers or other audio output devices,etc.)

In practice, for instance, the media content sources 100 could benational broadcasters, such as ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, HBO, and CNN, themedia content distributors 102 could be local affiliates and/or otherlocal content distributors, possibly for specific designated marketareas (DMAs), and the receivers 104 and content presentation devices 18could then be situated at customer premises, such as homes or businessestablishments.

With this or other arrangements, the content sources 100 could delivermedia content to the content distributors 102 for distribution toreceivers 104 at customer premises, and the content distributors coulddistribute the media content to the receivers 104 as particular channelsof content (e.g., particular frequencies, particular streaming mediasessions, or other defined channels). Each receiver could then respondto user input or one or more other triggers by tuning to or otherwisestarting to receive a selected channel and outputting to a contentpresentation device 106 a media stream representing media content of theselected channel. And the content presentation device 106 could receiveand render the media content (e.g., display or otherwise present thecontent).

By way of example, the content presentation device could be a televisionsituated at customer premises, which could be coupled by an HDMI cablewith a cable-TV set top box, and the set top box could be coupledthrough a local distribution network with a cable-TV head end thatdistributes various television channels provided by national and/orlocal broadcasters. In this arrangement, the television could regularlyreceive a media stream via HDMI from the set top box, and the set topbox could tune to a particular channel from the head end in response touser input, so that the media stream arriving at the television wouldthen represent the user-selected channel.

And as another example, a television situated at customer premises couldalternatively be connected by an HDMI cable with a streaming-mediareceiver such as an APPLE TV, ROKU, AMAZON FIRE, or CHROMECAST device,or a computer or other device, which could be in network communicationwith a streaming-media server such as virtual-MVPD that distributesvarious channels of content. In this arrangement, the television couldregularly receive a media stream via HDMI from the streaming-mediareceiver, and the streaming-media receiver could work with thestreaming-media server to cause the streaming-media server to deliver tothe streaming-media receiver a particular user-selected channel, whichthe streaming-media receiver could output in its media stream to thetelevision. Thus, here too, the media stream arriving at the televisionwould likewise represent the user-selected channel.

In this or other arrangements, as noted above, as the contentpresentation device receives and renders this media stream, the contentpresentation device may have no indication of the channel represented bythe media stream. Rather, the content presentation device may beconfigured simply to receive the media stream from the receiver and torender the content of the media stream. Per the present disclosure,however, the content presentation device may be in communication with anetwork server and may work with the network server to facilitateidentification of the channel and thus to facilitate taking usefulchannel-specific action.

FIG. 2 illustrates more specifically an example system in which some ofthe presently disclosed features could be implemented.

FIG. 2 shows at its top a representative content presentation device 200receiving a channel of content 202 being provided by a content deliverysystem 204. By way of example, the content presentation device 200 couldbe an example content presentation device 100 as shown in FIG. 1 , andthe content delivery system 204 could comprise a representative mediacontent source 100, media content distributor 102, and/or receiver 104as shown in FIG. 1 .

As such, the content presentation device 200 could be receiving andrendering the channel of content 202 in a media stream directly orindirectly from the content delivery system 204. The channel might be alinear broadcast feed and/or might be a streaming media channel, and thecontent presentation device might be receiving the channel through anyof a variety of distribution channels, such as but not limited to cable,satellite, terrestrial over-the-air broadcast, broadband streaming, orothers now known or later developed.

In an example implementation, the media content of the channel coulddefine a sequence of digital frames of media content that the contentpresentation device is configured to render for presentation to a user.A media content source, media content distributor, and/or other entitymight be broadcasting, streaming, or otherwise providing this sequenceof frames encapsulated in a transport stream for receipt by receiverthat is currently set to receive the channel of content, and thereceiver may be extracting the sequence of frames from the transportstream and outputting the sequence of frames as the media stream forreceipt and rendering by the content presentation device.

As further shown in FIG. 2 , the content presentation device 200 isinterconnected with a communication network 206, which could be apacket-switched network such as the Internet. For instance, the contentpresentation device 200 may sit as a node on a local area network (LAN)at customer premises, with the content presentation device having anassigned Internet Protocol (IP) address on the LAN and the LAN having anIP address on the network 206. The content presentation device 200 couldthus engage in data communication with various entities via the network206 while the content presentation device 200 is receiving and renderingthe media stream representing the channel of content 202 provided by thecontent delivery system 204.

Shown accessible via the network 206 (e.g., at a defined IP address onthe network) is a ACR server 208, which as noted above could operate toengage in fingerprint-based ACR processing. With this networkarrangement, the content presentation device 200 could engage in IPcommunication with the ACR server 206 via network 206, providing the ACRserver 208 with query fingerprints representing the media content of thechannel 202 that the content presentation device 200 is rendering. Andthe ACR server could compare those query fingerprints with referencefingerprints of various known channels, in an effort to determine thechannel 202 that the content presentation device 200 is rendering.

As discussed above, the ACR server 208 could be provisioned withreference data 210 that includes reference fingerprints respectivelyrepresenting each of various channels accessible to the contentpresentation device 200. As noted above, for instance, contentdistribution system 204 could generate and provide this reference datato ACR server on an ongoing basis for each of various such channels. Forinstance, as to each channel of media content that the contentdistribution system outputs, the content distribution system couldgenerate timestamped digital reference fingerprints of frames of themedia content on a per frame basis or other ongoing basis, using anydigital fingerprinting process now known or later developed, and couldprovide the ACR server with the timestamped digital referencefingerprints along with data identifying the associated channel.

Without limitation, an example digital fingerprinting process as tovideo content could apply on a per video frame basis and could involveestablishing a representation of luminosity and/or other videocharacteristics. For instance, for a given video frame, a fingerprintgenerator could programmatically divide the frame into a grid, and thefingerprint generator could measure luminosity of the frame per gridcell and generate a bit string with each bit or series of bitsrepresenting luminosity of a respective grid cell, or representing aweighted difference between the luminosity of certain defined pairs ofthe grid cells, or the like. Further, the fingerprint generator couldapply this process continually to generate the digital fingerprint overtime as a sequence of fingerprints (e.g., as a fingerprint stream). Forinstance, the fingerprint generator could apply this process to eachframe, to each key frame, periodically, or on another defined basis,with each frame's bit string defining a digital fingerprint and/or witha specified hash, combination or series of such bit strings or otherrepresentative values defining a digital fingerprint, on a slidingwindow basis. Other digital fingerprinting processes could be used aswell.

As the ACR server 208 receives this reference data including thegenerated reference fingerprints along with associated data, the ACRserver 208 could store the reference data in a relational database orother form suitable for ready searching and access.

The content presentation device 200 in an example implementation couldbe equipped with a fingerprint generator 212 (e.g., program instructionsexecutable by a processor of the content presentation device 200), whichis configured to generate query fingerprints representing the mediacontent of the channel 202 that the content presentation device 200 iscurrently rendering. The fingerprint generator 212 could be configuredto receive as input a copy of the media content of the channel as themedia content arrives at the content presentation device 200 and/or isprocessed for presentation by the content presentation device 200, andthe fingerprint generator 212 could be configured to generate the queryfingerprints of the media content on a per frame basis or other ongoingbasis, using the same digital fingerprinting process used to generatethe reference fingerprints, so as to facilitate a comparison of thequery fingerprints with the reference fingerprints.

Further, the content presentation device 200 could be configured totransmit its generated query fingerprints via network 206 to the ACRserver 208 for analysis, to facilitate fingerprint-based ACR andassociated channel-specific action. By way of example, the contentpresentation device 200 could be configured to periodically or from timeto time transmit to the server the query fingerprints representing alatest series of frames of the channel being rendered by the contentpresentation device 200. For instance, the content presentation device200 could generate a message carrying the latest generated queryfingerprints, along with one or more timestamps and/or other associateddata, and could transmit the message to the IP of the ACR server 208 foranalysis.

As noted above, given the query fingerprints representing media contentof the channel 202 being rendered by the content presentation device200, and given the reference data including reference fingerprintsrespectively representing each of various known channels, the ACR server208 could engage in fingerprint-based ACR processing. In particular, asnoted, the ACR server could compare the query fingerprints with thereference fingerprints in an effort to find a match.

To compare a given query fingerprint with a given reference fingerprint,the ACR server 208 could compare corresponding portions of thefingerprints with each other to determine whether the portions matchexactly or within defined tolerances. For example, the ACR server 208could compute a maximum deviation between the fingerprints and determineif the maximum deviation is within a predefined tolerance. Further, ifthe fingerprints are binary, this could be a Boolean determination orcould involve computing a Hamming distance (as a count of mismatchesbetween respective bit locations in the fingerprints), and if thefingerprints are more complex values, such as decimal values or vectors(e.g., grey values per video frame region), this could involvedetermining a distance between the values or vectors. Numerous otherexamples are possible as well.

Upon finding with sufficient certainty that the query fingerprints matchthe reference fingerprints of a particular channel, the ACR server 208could then conclude that that is the channel being rendered by thecontent presentation device 200.

And as further noted above, based on this identification of the channelbeing rendered by the content presentation device, the ACR server 208could then take or cause to be taken one or more useful channel-specificactions.

For present purposes, for instance, the ACR server 208 could thenresponsively engage in processing to detect a modifiable contentsegment, such as a replaceable ad, in the channel that the contentpresentation device is receiving and to responsively prepare and causethe content presentation device to engage in content modification (e.g.,DAI) with respect to that modifiable content segment.

As noted above, for instance, a content management system 216 may haveprovisioned the ACR server 208 in advance with modifiable contentsegment data 218, including fingerprints of each of various modifiablecontent segments (e.g., replaceable ads) and with associated metadata,including an identifier of each modifiable content segment for instance.Thus, having identified the channel being rendered by the contentpresentation device 200, the ACR server 208 could then responsivelycommence comparing the reference fingerprints of that identified channelwith the fingerprints of the various modifiable content segments in aneffort to find a match. And upon finding with sufficient certainty thatthe identified-channel reference fingerprints match the fingerprints ofa specific modifiable content segment, the ACR server 208 could thenengage in signaling to enable and prepare the content presentationdevice 200 to carry out a content modification with respect to thatmodifiable content segment.

For instance, the ACR server could provide the content presentationdevice 200 with various data as noted above regarding the upcomingmodifiable content opportunity, including timing information and othercontent-modification information for example, to enable the contentpresentation device 200 to obtain supplemental content.

The content presentation device 200 could then engage in signaling vianetwork 206 with the content management system 216 and perhaps with asupplemental-content delivery system 220, as discussed above, toascertain and obtain supplemental content (e.g., a replacement ad). Andthe content presentation device could carry out the content modificationwith respect to the modifiable content segment.

As noted above, the present disclosure provides a mechanism for use ofwatermarking to facilitate abandonment of dynamic content modification.This mechanism could be applied in any of a variety of dynamic contentmodification scenarios. Without limitation, for instance, the mechanismcould be applied in connection with the above-described dynamic contentmodification process, such as with DAI.

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram illustrating components that couldbe involved in an example implementation. In particular, FIG. 3illustrates a content presentation device 300, a content delivery entity304, and an ACR server 308.

Here, the content presentation device 300 and the ACR server 308 couldbe examples of the content presentation device 200 and the ACR server208 discussed above. For instance, the content presentation device 300could be a television located at customer premises, and the ACR server308 could be a network server configured to carry out fingerprintmatching, content identification, and triggering of dynamic contentmodification as discussed above, and the content presentation device 300and ACR server 308 could communicate with each other via a network 306such as the Internet.

The content delivery entity 304 could then be any entity that isinvolved with delivery of a media stream representing a channel ofcontent 302 directly or indirectly to the content presentation device300. For instance, the content delivery entity 304 could be a source ofthe media stream and/or an entity that sits within a communication paththrough which the media stream passes en route to the contentpresentation device 300.

Without limitation, for example, the content delivery entity 304 couldbe set top box or other receiver that is locally connected with thecontent presentation device 300. As noted above, such an entity could beconfigured to selectively receive a user-selected channel of contentfrom a content distributor such as a head end or virtual-MVPD and todeliver to the content presentation device 300 a media streamrepresenting that channel of content. And as another example, thecontent delivery entity 304 could be a media content source or mediacontent distributor, which as noted above could provide a media streamrepresenting a channel of content for delivery to a receiver serving thecontent presentation device 300. Other examples are possible as well.

FIG. 3 depicts a dashed line between the content delivery entity 304 andthe ACR server 308, to represent that these components might be incommunication with each other, as discussed above.

As further shown in FIG. 3 , the content delivery entity 304 couldinclude an abandonment-watermark encoder 310, and the contentpresentation device 300 could include an abandonment-watermark decoder312. Each of these components could comprise software stored in datastorage and executable by a processing unit and/or could take otherforms.

In operation, abandonment-watermark encoder 310 could function to encodean abandonment-watermark into a media stream that is being delivered(e.g., is now being delivered or will be delivered) to the contentpresentation device 300. And the abandonment-watermark decoder 312 couldfunction to decode an abandonment-watermark from a media stream that thecontent presentation device 300 is receiving.

As is known in the art, watermarking involves permanently embedding orotherwise encoding information into media content in a manner thatenables the information to be decoded and extracted from the mediacontent by a receiver of the media content but that may be imperceptibleto a user to whom the media content is presented. This is in contrast toinserting such information into a packet header or the like withoutencoding the information into the underlying media content itself.Watermarking may permanently changes the media content and be impossibleto remove.

More particularly, watermarking media content could involve encodinginto the media content a code that can be mapped to associatedinformation, or perhaps more directly encoding into the media contentthe associated information. In an example implementation, the watermarkcode could be on the order of 24 bits, and the watermarking could bedone in an audio component of the media content and/or in a videocomponent of the media content, depending on the form of the mediacontent for instance.

Existing audio watermarking techniques include, without limitation,inserting audio energy into the audio signal or otherwise adjusting oneor more characteristics of the audio signal in a manner that can bedetected by a suitably configured watermark-detection algorithm but thatis masked from hearing (e.g., the audio characteristic and/or manner ofencoding being sufficient to hide the watermark from humandetection)—known as stenographic or psychoacoustic encoding.

Examples of audio watermarks and corresponding watermark detectiontechniques are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,359,205 (entitled “Methodsand Apparatus to Perform Audio Watermarking and Watermark Detection andExtraction,” which issued on Jan. 22, 2013), U.S. Pat. No. 8,369,972(entitled “Methods and Apparatus to Perform Audio Watermarking Detectionand Extraction,” which issued on Feb. 5, 2013), U.S. Patent ApplicationPub. No. 2010/0223062 (entitled “Methods and Apparatus to Perform AudioWatermarking and Watermark Detection and Extraction,” which waspublished on Sep. 2, 2010), U.S. Pat. No. 6,871,180 (entitled “Decodingof Information in Audio Signals,” which issued on Mar. 22, 2005), U.S.Pat. No. 5,764,763 (entitled “Apparatus and Methods for Including Codesin Audio Signals and Decoding,” which issued on Jun. 9, 1998), U.S. Pat.No. 5,574,962 (entitled “Method and Apparatus for AutomaticallyIdentifying a Program Including a Sound Signal,” which issued on Nov.12, 1996), U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,800 (entitled “Method and Apparatus forAutomatically Identifying a Program Including a Sound Signal,” whichissued on Dec. 3, 1996), U.S. Pat. No. 5,787,334 (entitled “Method andApparatus for Automatically Identifying a Program Including a SoundSignal,” which issued on Jul. 28, 1998), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,490(entitled “Apparatus and Methods for Including Codes in Audio Signalsand Decoding,” which issued on Sep. 12, 1995, all of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

Existing video watermarking techniques, on the other hand, involveembedding a code in a video component of the media content in a mannerthat can be detected by a suitably configured watermark-detectionalgorithm but that is masked from human visual detection.

Examples of video watermarking techniques include various spatial-domaintechniques such as flipping pixels, embedding the watermark into leastsignificant bits, and adding a pseudo-random noise pattern to the video,and various frequency-domain techniques, such as SVD domainwatermarking, Discrete Fourier Transform watermarking, Discrete CosineTransform watermarking, Discrete Wavelet Transform watermarking, andprincipal component analysis watermarking. Other examples are possibleas well.

In line with the discussion above, when the content presentation device300 is planning a dynamic content modification or is currently applyinga dynamic content modification, a trigger event may occur that justifieshaving the content presentation device 300 abandon the dynamic contentmodification. In response to occurrence of the trigger event, thecontent delivery entity 304 could then use abandonment-watermark encoder310 to encode an abandonment-watermark (e.g., audio and/or video based)into the media stream that is being delivered to the contentpresentation device 300. As the content presentation device 300 isreceiving the media stream, the content presentation device 300 couldthen use abandonment-watermark decoder 312 to detect and read theabandonment-watermark from the media stream, and the contentpresentation device 300 could respond to detecting of theabandonment-watermark by abandoning the dynamic content modification.

In an example implementation, the trigger event for abandoning of thedynamic content modification could be a content-related event, perhapsan event related to the media content of the channel represented by themedia stream that the content presentation device is receiving. Withoutlimitation, examples of such an event as noted above could include (i)the presence or occurrence of emergency content, such as a breaking newsreport or an emergency alert, on the channel or (ii) a changing of thechannel. Alternatively, the event might take other forms, notnecessarily content-related.

Various entities could detect the occurrence of the trigger event so asto then cause the content delivery entity 304 to encode anabandonment-watermark into the media stream that is being delivered tothe content presentation device 300. Further, an entity could detect theoccurrence the trigger event directly or could detect occurrence of thetrigger event by receiving signaling responsive to occurrence of thetrigger event.

By way of example, an entity that inserts or otherwise providesemergency content on the channel that being delivered to the contentpresentation device 300 could implicitly detect the trigger event byengaging in the act of providing the emergency content on the channel.

This entity that provides the emergency content on the channel might bethe content delivery entity 304 itself, such as a media content sourceor distributor, in which case the content delivery entity 304 wouldimplicitly detect the occurrence of the trigger event by itself engagingin the act of providing the emergency content on the channel. Thecontent delivery entity 304 could then responsively encode theabandonment-watermark into the media stream that is being delivered tothe content presentation device 300.

Alternatively, another entity might provide the emergency content on thechannel and might engage in associated signaling with the contentdelivery entity 304, to cause the content delivery entity 304 toresponsively encode the abandonment-watermark into the media stream thatis being delivered to the content presentation device 300. In this case,the other entity and/or the content delivery entity 304 might beinvolved with the detecting the occurrence of the trigger event. And thecontent delivery entity 304 could likewise encode theabandonment-watermark into the media stream that is being delivered tothe content presentation device 300.

Still alternatively, the content delivery entity 304 or another entityin the path along which the media stream is being delivered to thecontent presentation device 300 could detect the presence of theemergency content in the media stream, by monitoring the media streamfor the presence of one or more tones (e.g., EAS tones) and/or otheraudio signals indicative of emergency content in the media stream. Andthe entity could responsively encode or cause to be encoded theabandonment-watermark into the media stream.

Yet alternatively, the ACR server 308 could be involved with detectingthe presence of emergency content in the media stream that is beingdelivered to the content presentation device 300, and the ACR server 308could respond to detecting the presence of the emergency content bysignaling to the content delivery entity 304 to cause the contentdelivery entity 304 to insert the abandonment-watermark into the mediastream that is being delivered to the content presentation device 300.

For instance, in much the same way as the ACR server 308 could beprovisioned with digital fingerprints representing modifiable contentsegments as discussed above, the ACR server 308 could be provisionedwith digital reference fingerprints representing emergency content suchas media content (e.g., tones) that would typically introduce a breakingnews story or emergency alert. And the ACR server 308 could use thesedigital fingerprints as a basis to determine when this introductoryemergency content is present in the media stream representing thechannel of content en route to the content presentation device 300.

This introductory emergency content could be channel specific, such asspecific to the channel that the ACR server 308 has determined thecontent presentation device 304 is rendering. For instance, for each ofvarious known channels, the ACR server 308 could be provisioned withrespective digital fingerprints representing media content that wouldtypically introduce a breaking news story or emergency alertspecifically on that channel. Once the ACR server 308 has identified thechannel being rendered by the content presentation device 300 and hasengaged in signaling with the content presentation device 300 toinitiate a dynamic content modification on that channel, the ACR server308 could thus select the associated digital fingerprints representingthe introductory emergency content specifically for that channel, andthe ACR server 308 could begin comparing the reference digitalfingerprint data representing the identified channel with the digitalfingerprints representing the introductory emergency content for theidentified channel.

Upon finding a fingerprint match with sufficient certainty, the ACRserver 308 could then reasonably conclude that emergency content ispresent on the channel en route to the content presentation device 300.And the ACR server could respond to the determined presence of theemergency content on the channel by signaling to the content deliveryentity 304 to cause the content delivery entity 304 to encode theabandonment-watermark into the media stream being delivered to thecontent presentation device.

If the occurrence of emergency content on the channel is the triggerevent for encoding of the abandonment-watermark into the media streamthat is being delivered to the content presentation device 300, thecontent delivery entity 304 could optimally encode theabandonment-watermark into the media stream shortly before the time whenthe emergency content will appear on the channel. This could give thecontent presentation device 300 time to decode the abandonment-watermarkand responsively abandon dynamic content modification by the time theemergency content will appear on the channel. Alternatively, the contentdelivery entity 304 could encode the abandonment-watermark to becoincident with the emergency content on the channel, such as byencoding the abandonment-watermark into the emergency content itself orinto associated content on the channel, to facilitate triggering theabandonment at or near in time to when the emergency content will bepresented.

Further, note that similar principles could apply with respect to thepresence of other special content, aside from emergency content, on thechannel that is being delivered to the content presentation device.

As another example, when a user changes the channel being rendered bythe content presentation device 300, an entity that is involved withthat channel change could detect the channel change as the triggerevent, so as to then cause the content delivery entity 304 to encode anabandonment-watermark into the media stream that is being delivered tothe content presentation device 300.

Analogously here, the entity that detects the channel change might bethe content delivery entity 304 itself, such as a virtual-MVPD forinstance, in which case the content delivery entity 304 could thenresponsively encode the abandonment-watermark into the media stream thatis being delivered to the content presentation device 300.Alternatively, another entity that is aware of or otherwise involvedwith the channel change might detect the channel change and inform thecontent delivery entity 304 so as to cause the content delivery entity304 to encode the abandonment-watermark into the media stream that isbeing delivered to the content presentation device 300.

For instance, a set top box that could tune to a user-selected channeland output that channel in a media stream being delivered to the contentpresentation device could detect when the user changes the channel, suchas by receiving remote-control input changing the channel. The set topbox could then respond to that channel change by encoding theabandonment-watermark into the media stream that is being delivered tothe content presentation device 300.

Likewise, a streaming-media receiver that could establish astreaming-media session with a streaming-media server to receive auser-selected channel of content could detect when the user changes thechannel, also by receiving remote-control input changing the channel.And the streaming-media receiver could similarly respond to that channelchange by encoding the abandonment-watermark into the media stream thatis being delivered to the content presentation device 300.

Alternatively, a virtual-MVPD (such as a streaming-media server) thatcould establish a streaming media session with a streaming-mediareceiver to deliver a user-selected channel of content could similarlydetect when a channel change occurs, perhaps by receiving signaling fromthe streaming-media receiver requesting a change of the channel and/orestablishment of a replacement channel stream. The virtual-MVPD couldthen similarly respond to that channel change by encoding theabandonment-watermark into the media stream that is being delivered tothe content presentation device 300.

If the occurrence of a channel change is the trigger event for encodingof the abandonment-watermark into the media stream that is beingdelivered to the content presentation device 300, the content deliveryentity 304 could optimally encode the abandonment-watermark into themedia stream shortly before the time when the channel change will occur,such as by first encoding the abandonment-watermark and then proceedingwith the channel change for instance. This could give the contentpresentation device 300 time to decode the abandonment-watermark andresponsively abandon dynamic content modification by the time thechannel changes.

As noted above, the content presentation device 300 could detect andrespond to the abandonment-watermark at any time between when theabandonment-watermark within the media stream at any time between whenthe content presentation device 300 begins planning for a dynamiccontent modification and when the content presentation device 300 wouldfinish carrying out the dynamic content modification.

In practice, for instance, once the content presentation device 300 hasreceived signaling that causes the content presentation device 300 toplan for dynamic content modification at an upcoming contentmodification opportunity, the content presentation device 300 couldresponsively start to monitor the incoming media stream for the presenceof an abandonment-watermark.

If the content presentation device 300 then detects theabandonment-watermark before the start of the content modificationopportunity, the content presentation device 300 could responsivelyforgo the content modification altogether by not starting it.

Alternatively, if the content presentation device 300 is currentlyapplying the content modification, such as currently presenting overlayor replacement content, when the content presentation device 300 detectsthe abandonment-watermark, the content presentation device couldresponsively discontinue the content modification. For instance, thecontent presentation device 300 could discontinue presentation of anoverlay or replacement content that was underway, reverting topresentation of the unmodified content of the media stream.

FIG. 4 is next a flow chart depicting a method that can be carried outin accordance with the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4 , at block400, the method includes detecting occurrence of a trigger event forcausing a content presentation device to abandon a dynamic contentmodification with respect to a media stream being delivered to thecontent presentation device. And at block 402, the method includes,responsive to detecting the occurrence of the trigger event, encoding anabandonment-watermark into the media stream being delivered to thecontent presentation device, the abandonment-watermark beinginterpretable by the content presentation device to cause the contentpresentation device to abandon the dynamic content modification.

In line with the discussion above, this method could be carried outbetween a time when the content presentation device has received adirective to carry out the dynamic content modification (e.g., signalingproviding information about an upcoming content modificationopportunity) and a time when the content presentation device would startapplying the dynamic content modification, in which case the act ofabandoning the dynamic content modification could involve forgoing thedynamic content modification. Alternatively, the method could be carriedout while the content presentation device is applying the dynamiccontent modification, in which case the act of abandoning the dynamiccontent modification could involve discontinuing the dynamic contentmodification.

As further discussed above, the dynamic content modification at issue inthis method could be DAI. Further, the dynamic content modificationcould be responsive to fingerprint-based ACR, in the manner discussedabove among other possibilities.

In addition, as discussed above, the trigger event for causing thecontent presentation device to abandon the dynamic content modificationcould be a content-related trigger event, such as the occurrence ofemergency content in the media stream that is being delivered to thecontent presentation device or the occurrence of a channel change in themedia stream that is being delivered to the content presentation device.Thus, detecting the trigger event could involve detecting presence ofemergency content in the media stream that is being delivered to thecontent presentation device or detecting a change of channel representedby the media stream being delivered to the content presentation device.

Further, as discussed above, the act of detecting the trigger eventcould be carried out by at least one entity involved with delivering themedia stream to the content presentation device, such as by a contentdelivery entity, an ACR server, and/or one or more other entities. Andthe act of encoding the abandonment-watermark into the media streamcould likewise carried out by at least one entity involved withdelivering the media stream to the content presentation device, such asby or on behalf of a content delivery entity.

FIG. 5 is another flow chart depicting a method that can be carried outin accordance with the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5 , at block500, the method includes a content presentation device detecting anabandonment-watermark encoded in a media stream being received by thecontent presentation device. And at block 502, the method includes,responsive to detecting the abandonment-watermark encoded in the mediastream, the content presentation device abandoning a dynamic contentmodification of the media stream.

In line with the discussion above, the act of detecting theabandonment-watermark encoded in the media stream being received by thecontent presentation device could involve detecting a watermark in themedia stream and determining that the detected watermark encodes a valueinterpretable by the content presentation device to cause the contentpresentation device to abandon the dynamic content modification.

Various other features described above can be implemented in thiscontext as well, and vice versa.

FIG. 6 is next a simplified block diagram of an example system operablein accordance with the present disclosure. This system could represent acontent delivery entity as described above and/or one or more otherentities. As shown in FIG. 6 , the example system includes a networkcommunication interface 600, a processing unit 602, non-transitory datastorage 604, any or all of which could be integrated together or, asshown, communicatively linked together by a system bus, network, orother connection mechanism 606.

Network communication interface 600 could comprise one or more physicalnetwork connection mechanisms to facilitate communication on a network,and/or for engaging in direct or networked communication with one ormore other local or remote entities. As such, the network communicationinterface could comprise a wireless or wired Ethernet interface or othertype of network interface, for engaging in IP communication and/or othertype of network communication.

Processing unit 602, could comprise one or more general purposeprocessors (e.g., microprocessors) and/or one or more specializedprocessors (e.g., application specific integrated circuits). Andnon-transitory data storage 606 could comprise one or more volatileand/or non-volatile storage components, such as optical, magnetic, orflash storage.

As shown, the data storage 604 of the example system stores programinstructions 608, which could be executable by processing unit 602 tocarry out various operations described herein. For instance, theoperations could include (i) detecting occurrence of a trigger event forcausing a content presentation device to abandon a dynamic contentmodification with respect to a media stream being delivered to thecontent presentation device, and (ii) responsive to detecting theoccurrence of the trigger event, encoding an abandonment-watermark intothe media stream being delivered to the content presentation device, theabandonment-watermark being interpretable by the content presentationdevice to cause the content presentation device to abandon the dynamiccontent modification.

Various features described above could be implemented in this context aswell, and vice versa.

Finally, FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of an example contentpresentation device operable in accordance with the present disclosure.In line with the discussion above, this content presentation devicecould take various forms. For instance, it could be a television,computer monitor, or other device that operates to receive and rendervideo content, and/or it could be a loudspeaker, a pair of headphones,or other device that operates to receive and render audio content.Numerous other examples are possible as well.

As shown in FIG. 7 , the example content presentation device includes acontent input interface 700, a content presentation interface 702, anetwork communication interface 704, a processing unit 706, andnon-transitory data storage 708, any or all of which could be integratedtogether or, as shown, communicatively linked together by a system bus,network, or other connection mechanism 710.

Content input interface 700 could comprise a physical communicationinterface for receiving media content to be presented by the contentpresentation device. As such, the media input interface could includeone or more wired and/or wireless interfaces for establishingcommunication with and receiving media content in analog or digital formfrom a receiver or other device or system. For example, the media inputinterface could include one or more interfaces compliant with protocolssuch as DVI, HDMI, VGA, USB, BLUETOOTH, WIFI, among numerous others.

Content presentation interface 702 could then comprise one or morecomponents to facilitate presentation of the received media content. Byway of example, the media presentation interface could comprise a userinterface such as a display screen and/or a loudspeaker, as well as oneor more drivers or other components for processing the received mediacontent to facilitate presentation of the content on the user interface.

Network communication interface 704 could comprise a physical networkconnection mechanism to facilitate communication on a network, and/orfor engaging in direct or networked communication with one or more otherlocal or remote entities. As such, the network communication interfacecould comprise a wireless or wired Ethernet interface or other type ofnetwork interface, for engaging in IP communication and/or other type ofnetwork communication.

Processing unit 706 could then comprise one or more general purposeprocessors (e.g., microprocessors) and/or one or more specializedprocessors (e.g., application specific integrated circuits). Andnon-transitory data storage 708 could comprise one or more volatileand/or non-volatile storage components, such as optical, magnetic, orflash storage. Further, as shown, data storage 708 stores programinstructions 712, which could be executable by processing unit 606 tocarry out various operations described here.

Various features described above could be implemented in this context aswell, and vice versa.

Further, the present disclosure also contemplates a non-transitorycomputer readable medium that is encoded with, stores, or otherwiseembodies program instructions executable by a processing unit to carryout various operations as described herein.

Exemplary embodiments have been described above. Those skilled in theart will understand, however, that changes and modifications may be madeto these embodiments without departing from the true scope and spirit ofthe invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: detecting occurrence of atrigger event for causing a content presentation device to abandon adynamic content modification with respect to a media stream beingdelivered to the content presentation device, wherein the detecting theoccurrence of the trigger event comprises detecting presence ofemergency content in the media stream that is being delivered to thecontent presentation device; and responsive to detecting the occurrenceof the trigger event, encoding an abandonment-watermark into the mediastream coincident with the detected emergency content in the mediastream being delivered to the content presentation device, wherein theabandonment-watermark is interpretable by the content presentationdevice to cause the content presentation device to abandon the dynamiccontent modification.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method iscarried out between a time when the content presentation device hasreceived a directive to carry out the dynamic content modification and atime when the content presentation device would start applying thedynamic content modification, and wherein abandoning the dynamic contentmodification comprises forgoing the dynamic content modification.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the method is carried out while the contentpresentation device is applying the dynamic content modification, andwherein abandoning the dynamic content modification comprisesdiscontinuing the dynamic content modification.
 4. The method of claim1, wherein the dynamic content modification comprises dynamic adinsertion.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamic contentmodification is responsive to fingerprint-based automatic contentrecognition.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the presence ofemergency content in the media stream that is being delivered to thecontent presentation device comprises detecting in the media stream oneor more predefined audio signals indicative of presence of the emergencycontent in the media stream.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein detectingthe trigger event is carried out by at least one entity involved withdelivering the media stream to the content presentation device.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein encoding the abandonment-watermark into themedia stream is carried out by at least one entity involved withdelivering the media stream to the content presentation device.
 9. Themethod of claim 6, wherein detecting in the media stream the one or moreaudio signals indicative of presence of the emergency content in themedia stream comprises detecting in the media stream one or moreEmergency Alert System tones.
 10. A system comprising: a networkcommunication interface; a processing unit; non-transitory data storage;and program instructions stored in the non-transitory data storage andexecutable by the processing unit to carry out operations including:detecting occurrence of a trigger event for causing a contentpresentation device to abandon a dynamic content modification withrespect to a media stream being delivered to the content presentationdevice, wherein the detecting the occurrence of the trigger eventcomprises detecting presence of emergency content in the media streamthat is being delivered to the content presentation device, andresponsive to detecting the occurrence of the trigger event, encoding anabandonment-watermark into the media stream coincident with the detectedemergency content in the media stream being delivered to the contentpresentation device, wherein the abandonment-watermark is interpretableby the content presentation device to cause the content presentationdevice to abandon the dynamic content modification.
 11. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the program instructions are executable to carry outthe operations between a time when the content presentation device hasreceived a directive to carry out the dynamic content modification and atime when the content presentation device would start applying thedynamic content modification, and wherein abandoning the dynamic contentmodification comprises forgoing the dynamic content modification. 12.The system of claim 10, wherein the program instructions are executableto carry out the operations while the content presentation device isapplying the dynamic content modification, and wherein abandoning thedynamic content modification comprises discontinuing the dynamic contentmodification.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the dynamic contentmodification comprises dynamic ad insertion.
 14. The system of claim 10,wherein the dynamic content modification is responsive tofingerprint-based automatic content recognition.
 15. The system of claim10, wherein detecting the presence of emergency content in the mediastream that is being delivered to the content presentation devicecomprises detecting in the media stream one or more predefined audiosignals indicative of presence of the emergency content in the mediastream.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein the system is disposed atleast in part at an entity involved with delivering the media stream tothe content presentation device.
 17. The system of claim 15, whereindetecting in the media stream the one or more audio signals indicativeof presence of the emergency content in the media stream comprisesdetecting in the media stream one or more Emergency Alert System tones.18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying programinstructions executable by one or more processors to carry outoperations comprising: detecting occurrence of a trigger event forcausing a content presentation device to abandon a dynamic contentmodification with respect to a media stream being delivered to thecontent presentation device, wherein the detecting occurrence of thetrigger event comprises detecting presence of emergency content in themedia stream that is being delivered to the content presentation device;and responsive to detecting the occurrence of the trigger event,encoding an abandonment-watermark into the media stream coincident withthe detected emergency content in the media stream being delivered tothe content presentation device, wherein the abandonment-watermark isinterpretable by the content presentation device to cause the contentpresentation device to abandon the dynamic content modification.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the programinstructions are executable to carry out the operations between a timewhen the content presentation device has received a directive to carryout the dynamic content modification and a time when the contentpresentation device would start applying the dynamic contentmodification, and wherein abandoning the dynamic content modificationcomprises forgoing the dynamic content modification.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the programinstructions are executable to carry out the operations while thecontent presentation device is applying the dynamic contentmodification, and wherein abandoning the dynamic content modificationcomprises discontinuing the dynamic content modification.